Let’s make University of Hawaii the best it can be

The Hawaii Business Roundtable would like to congratulate David Lassner on being selected as the new president of the University of Hawaii.

We would also like to commend and recognize Francis Wiercinski for his willingness to serve and support the future of Hawaii.

As Hawaii always does, it is now time to come together in support of our university president and to work with David and his leadership team to create a brighter future for the university and the state.

The Hawaii Business Roundtable’s ongoing mission is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Hawaii through increased economic opportunity and social well-being.

We have taken on many initiatives, including supporting the University of Hawaii and working to improve the quality of public education for our keiki.

There are more than 75,000 members of our community who work for Business Roundtable companies and a great number of them and their children are proud graduates of the University of Hawaii.

The UH system is an important part of the education system for our children. Beyond its obvious academic importance, it is an important economic driver for the entire state.

The University of Hawaii Innovation Initiative aims to build our research industry by more than doubling funding from outside the state over the next decade.

In fiscal year 2012, the university brought in $436 million in extramural contract and grant funding. Furthermore, the 10-campus system is already a huge economic driver: UH research and education-related expenditures had an economic impact of $3.61 billion, which is about 4 percent of Hawaii’s GDP.

The Hawaii Business Roundtable and other organizations have come together to support both the UH’s Innovation Initiative and the Hawaii Graduation Initiative, to educate more Hawaii citizens for the community and workforce.

As members of Hawaii’s business community, we all know the critical need for bettering our business climate through economic growth and diversification.

This is an approach for which the University of Hawaii has already laid a solid foundation.

The National Science Foundation ranks UH’s Manoa campus 51st out of 689 research universities nationwide. The UH was also the recipient of the largest U.S. Department of Labor grant in the nation — $25 million — to develop community college workforce programs in targeted areas, such as energy, agriculture and health.

The Business Roundtable will continue to support the university’s effort to expand its research base through partnerships as well as building community understanding and support.

Continuing to build upon the university’s nationally recognized research capabilities while moving the Innovation and Graduation initiatives forward are vital to the economic future of Hawaii. While continuing to protect and promote our visitor industry and military partners, we need to work toward a more diversified economy based on research and innovation.

Much is already being done in areas such as renewable energy, astronomy and aerospace, medical research and oceanography. These are areas of excellence at our university and are part of the natural advantage our islands’ unique environment give us.

Working with the university, state, every county, other businesses and labor, the Roundtable is completing an inventory of the innovation assets in Hawaii. The report will enable the community to work toward expanding Hawaii’s research and innovation economy with the university as a major focal point.

The ultimate goal is to create a diversity of challenging and rewarding jobs for our children.

We fully support David Lassner and his vision for the future of the University of Hawaii.

We hope that everyone in Hawaii will come together to make the vision of a greater university and a greater Hawaii come true.